Defibrating-machine.



A. P. OBRIEN & J. A. ALLEN.

DEFIBEATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912. L@?5,%66. Patented 0011x1913.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

M QQ'L.

A. P. O'BRIEN & J. A. ALLEN.

DEFIBRATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912.

L?5, 66. Patented Oct. 7, 1913.

10 SHEETSSHEBT 2. 655%? a? fizzlenfr A. P.0'BRIEN & J. A. ALLEN.

DBFIBRATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912.

1,075,266. Patented 0013.7,1913.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 3. @fi 5 [nzdem flak? M KW A. P. OBRIEN & J. A. ALLEN.

DEFIBRATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912.

L075fi66. Patented Oct. 7, 1913.

10 SHEETSr-SHEET 4.

A. P O'BRIEN & J. A. ALLEN.

DEFIBRATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY5, 1912.

1,075,266. Patented 0011.7,1913.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

. fat/Mug aw A. P. OBRIBN & J. A. ALLEN. DEFIBRATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912. I 1 075,266. Patented Oct.7, 1913. 9 10SHEETS$HEET 6.

A. P. OBRIEN & J A. ALLEN.

DEFIBRATING MAdHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912.

1,75,%6. Patented 00m, 1913.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 7 A. P. OBRIEN 81: J. A. ALLEN. DBFIBRATING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 5, 1912.

LQYQQGQ Patented Oct. 7, 1913.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

fnverzibrs A. P. OBRIEN & J. A. ALLEN.

DEFIBRATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1912.

1 075 266, Patented Oct. '7, 1913.

10 SHEETSSHEET 9 A. P. O'BRIEN & J. A. ALLEN. DEFIBRATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULYS, 1912.

Patented Oct. 7, 1913.

fif'fi'esfi [mlenibm M gmgaww ARTE-UR F. WBRIEN,

"Mia scans rr 0F MOUNT VERNON, AND JOHN A. ALLEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.;

SAID ALLEN ASSIGNOB T0 SAID: Clx'IEtRlLEIBI.

" crimes.

DEFIBEATINGFMAGHIN I 1 Specification of Letters rams Patented (lot. '7',1913.

To aZZ'whom it may concern:

Bait known that we, ARTHUR P. OBRIEN and JOHN A. ALLEN, citizens of theUnited States, residing, respectively, at Mount Vernon, county ofWestchester, and State of New York, and New York-,county and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in DefibratingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in defibrating. machines,particularly designed to. separate the fiber from the pulp othe'tropical abaca (Mum textiles). None of the machines of thischaracter heretofore known, so far as We are-aware, were capable ofhandling stalks as they came from, the plant. It was necessary to removeby hand the greater part ofthe pulp before the remainder ot the stalkscould be introduced into suchxmachines. at all. v r One ofthc objects ofthe present invention is the production of a. machine capable ofhandling an. entire stalk as. it comes from the plant, thus eliminatingthe labor heretofore. necessary to prepare the stalks for the machine. Afurther object is the production: of, a

machine in which the stalks are automatically and successivelytransferred to forwarding means which pperates toadvance the stalkssuc'cessivelyinto the range of action of various mechanisms which.perform the necessary operations to clear the.

. fiber; oi pulpin the most eflicient manner..

A further object is. the production of a machine which is long enough toenable all of the necessary operations to be performed upon a stalkwhile said stalk is passing in a straight line through the machine.

A further object is the production of a device capableof use in machinesof the character just referred to and which operates to open the cellsof a stalk for the purpose of permittingthe ready outflow of juice fromthe stalk cells before the fiber stripping begins andfor the furtherpurpose"of'fac1litating the crushing of the pulp.

A further object is production ,of a device: capable of use in machinesof the character referred to, which will; coiiperate with a'stalk cellopening device to forcibly express the juice trom the stalk cells.andthe surrounding pulp before thefiber stripping, begins.

A further object is the production of an improved fiber strippingmechanism including. automatically operating means for preventing undueaccumulation. of broken fibers in the stripping mechanism.

A. further object is the production of a machine of? the eneralcharacter above referred to in which the forwarding mecha nism operatesall the other mechanisms of the machine so that the various mechanismsare always properly timed with respect to the forwarding mechanism.

With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in View, theinvention consists of certain constructions. and combinations which willbe hereinafter fully described and then specifically set forth in thesame or like parts, Figures 1 and 2 are respectively plan and sideelevationof one end of a machine constructed in accordance with theinvention, Figs. 3' and 4: are respectively Ian and side elevation ofthe middle SBCtlDIL of the machine partly illustrated in. Figs. 1 and 2,Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively plan and. slde elevation of the deliveryendaof the machine partly illustrated inFig-s, 1 to 4 inclusive, Fig. 7is an enlarged detail view partly broken away and illustrating parts oftwo stalk forwarding grippers employed in connection with the machineillustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, Fig-8' is a cross-sectional Viewtaken on the line 88 of Fig. 7, Fig.- 9 is a longitudinal sectional viewtaken on the line 9-9 in Fig. 1, but on an enlarged scale, Figs. 10 and11 are longitudinal sectional views taken onthe line 10-10 in Fig. 1,

but on an enlarged scale and illustrating.

the operation of the stalk transferring mechanism, Fig. 12 is alongitudinal stepped sectional view taken on the line 12-42 in Fig. 1,but on an, enlarged scale-and illustrating the stalk cell opening orshredding .mochanism, Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic plan View illustrating.the action of the stalk forwarding grippers with respect to themechanism illustrated in Figs. 10 to 12 inclusive,

side elevation in Fig. 12, Fig. 19 is a cross. sectional view partlybroken away and on; an enlarged scale illustrating one of the fiberstripping mechanisms, Fig. 20 is across-sectional view taken on the line20-20 in Fig. 19, Fig. 21 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scaleand illustrating another strlpping mechanism, Fig. 22 is across-sectional view taken on line 22-22 in:

Fig. 21, Fig. 23 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of thedelivery end of the machine and Fig. 24 is a cross-sectional view takenon the line 2 17-24: in 23.

port, forwarding means spaced from the support, means for transferring astalk from the support to the forwarding means; stalk cell openingmechanism operative inf the path of the moving stalk, juice expressingmechanism also operative in the path of the moving stalk and beyond thestalk cell opening mechanism, stripping mechanismlocated in the path ofmovement of the stalk beyond the juice expressing mecha;

nism, stalk releasing mechanism located beyond the stripping mechanism,auxiliary forwarding mechanism cooperating with the I forwarding meansto relieve the stalk from.

xcessive strain during the stripping operation, and a carriercooperating with the auxiliary forwarding mechanism to advance the.stalk toward the delivery end of the machine after it is released by theforwarding All of these means and mechanisms; may be varied incombination and construc- In the best con-1 structions, all themechanisms above enumerated operate upon the stalk between thetransferring means at the feed end of the machine and the carrier at thedelivery end: of the machine, and are directly operated by theforwarding means and are so located as. to hold the stalk in astraightline while the means.

tion within wide limits.

several operations are being performed upon 1t by the severalmechanisms.

many possible embodiments of the invention.

Referringto the drawings, 1 and 2 indiframes 1 and 2 is a power shaft 3,which consists of a lower jaw 15 an In carrylng the invention intoefiect there j 1s provided what may be termed a stalk sup- 7,

1 By It is to be understood that the machine. illustrated in the drawingis but one of may derive its motion from any suitable source of power.with two' sprockets 4. and 5, over which run chains 6 and 7 These chainsextend to the opposite or feed end of the frame and there respectivelyrun over sprockets 8 and 9 This shaft is provided which are fast uponashaft 10 journaled in .boxes 11 and 12. These boxes are each operatedby means of a screw 13, the function of the screw being to move theboxes 11 and 12- to tighten the chains in a well-known manner. The upperruns of the chains are the operating runs and the lower runs of thechains are simply the returning runs. The stalk of the tropical abaeagrows to a length of approximately 20 feet. The total length of themachine illustrated is more than 20 feet so that the longest stalksmaybe carried therethrough without bending. The chains are provided witha pair of equidistant grippers 14 (see Fi s; 7 nd 8). "These grippersare substantia ly glike and each 11 upper aw 16 hinged together on a bar17 extending across the machine, the opposite ends of each bar beinganchored in sockets formed on opposite links of the chains 6 and 7, asis clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 13. The jaws 15 and 16 are normally heldtogether by a plurality of springs 18 screwed to the lower jaw and bentover the upper jaw and resting against a projection 19 upon said upperjaw. The lower jaw 15 is provided with a recess or channel 20 into whichthe lip 21 of the upper jaw is adapted to pass when no stalk liesbetweenthe jaws. When a stalk lies between the jaws, however, as is shown sothat. a very firm grip of the jaws upon the stalk is effected. Each ofthe grippers is further provided with a pair of what may be termedtrailing rollers 22, each journaledupon a stud 23 mounted in a bracket24:, which bracket is bolted to the lower jaw 15. Each of-the'grippersis further provlded with a pair of what may be termed riding rollers 25,journaled upon the bar 17 outside of the jaws l5 and 16.. Each of thegrippers is further provided with a pair of what may be termed openingrollers 26. Each of these opening rollers is journaled upon a. stud 27,carried by a bracket 28, which bracket is bolted to the upper jaw. aninspection of Fig. 7 it will be seen that these rollers vary somewhat inwidth. The reason for this, and the particular functions of these ridingrollers, trailing rollers, and opening rollers, will be hereinafterdescribed. The chains 6 and 7 and the grippers 14 constitute what may betermed forwarding means, thei particular function of this forwardingmeaitisfibeing to advance stalks through the machine. While, incerineaaee t'a'in constructions, stalks may be introduced by hand intothe grippers of the fo wardin means, in the particular machine selectedto illustrate the invention, there is provided what may be termed astalk support; that is to say, a device for supporting a stalk or aplurality of stalks adjacent to the forward 01* feed end of the machineand from which the stalk may be transferred to the forward, iiig means.This stalk support may be of any suitable construction, and where themachine is to be usednear the source of stalk supply, or in other wordsin the field, the support will consist of a bamboo or wooden frame, notshown but which would extend to the fighter the feed end of the {machineor to the right of that portion of the machine illustrated in Figs. 1and 2. When such a support is used, it'cotiperates with one or moresteed tables permanently fixed to the frames 1 and 2 of the machine. Twoof s'u'ch 'feed tables are shown in the drawing and are marked 29 and 30(see Figs. 1 and 2). It will be noted thatthese tables are-superposed,the table 30 lying over theta'ble 29. This is to permit air-attendant toip'lacea stalk upon one of the tables while another s'talk is beingtransferred "frornthe other table to the forwarding means, thuseffecting *asavingof time by continuous op- -eratioh. The tables 29 and30 are preferably constructed of metal, although this is not essential.B reference to Figs. '9, 10=and 1 1, it will be readily understood thatthe feed tables 'or stalk supports are stat-iona'rily mounte'd a'n'dspaced from the forwardinmeans which underrunsaid tables. It wil benoted further that the delivery ends of said tables are inclined fromthe horizontal plane 'iirwhic'h the upper runs'of the chains of theforwarding means operate.

For the purpose 'of transferring astalk from each table to theforwarding means,

there is provided means "or mechanism "eo-' operating with said table toadvance the stalk lying upon said table beyond the limit thereof andinto the open jaws of one of the'grippers, this means coming intooperation at the time that one of the grippers is passing the deliveryend of .the table. The transferring means includes a sector 31, which isshown in its normal position adjacent to table 29 in F-ig. 9.. Thissector is preferably constructed of metal and may be provided with aroughened operating surface or p with a frictional covering of rubber ora like material to increase its holding power upon a stalk lying uponthetable. The sector 31 is mounted upon a series of double arms .32, 33(see Figs. 1 and 9). These arms are fast upon a shaft 34extendingacro'ss the machine and journaled in boxes 35, said{boXesbeing-slidable in brackets 36 upstanding from the side frames 1and 2 and inclined from the vertical so that they stand perpendicular tothe inclined delivery end of the table 29. Springs 37 are provided,which lie within the bracket 36 and tend to force the boxes and shaft 34upward. The upward movement of the shaft 34 is limited by arms 38loosely mounted one upon each end of the shaft 34 adjacent the boxes 35.Each of the arms 38 carries a bowl 39, which engages a fixed cam 40,supported by a bracket 41, which bracket is bolted to the upper end ofthe bracket 36 above referred to. During the operation of the mechanism,"the arm 38 is moved toward the right, the bowl 39 first riding alongthe horizontal part of the cam 40 and thereby forcing the shaft 34 andthe sector 31 in'a downward direction toward the table 29. This p'a-rtof the movement is to cause the "sector to press upon a stalk lying uponthe table 29. A further movement of the arm or the horizontal surface oft cam 40 and to ride along the curved surfa which is concentric with theshaft 34 when the sector is in its lowest position. This is for thepurpose of advancing the stalk along the table 29 and into one of thegrippers.

The arm 38 is operated by the following mechanism: The arm has only halfa hub 38 toward the right causes thlegipwlto ride and is hinged at 42 toa corresponding half hub 43 (see Figs. 10, 11 and 12) This half hub 43carries an arm 44, which is connected by means of a stud 45 to a jointedreach-rod 46, 47. The adjacent parts 46, 47 of the reachrod are upturnedat 48 and hinged together at 49. The part 46 carries a stud 50projecting through a suitable aperture in the upturned portion of thepart 47, and around thisst-ud is coiled a spring 51, which bears againstthe upturned portion of the part 47 and against adjusting nuts 52 on theend of the stud. The free end of the reach-rod 46, 47 carries a hook 53,which is adapted to engage a pin or stud 54 projecting outwardly fromone of the links of the forwarding chain. By an inspection of Fig. 13,it will be seen that these studs 54 are of different lengths for thedifferent grippers. This is to permit one of the grippers to pass one ofthe feed tables without operating its transferring mechanism. When thereach-rod is hoo-kedto one of the chain studs 54, it normally producesthe movement of the arms 38' and 44 above referred to. If, however,there should be any 0bs'truction between the sector and the table otherthan a plant stalk, the tension of the part 47 of the reach-rod 46, 47will cause the spring 51 to be compressed and the reach-rods parts 46,47 to break-joint or yield against theaction of the spring withoutbreaking the mechanism for advancing the stalk. A further precaution istaken against accidental breakage of the parts of this mechanism andconsists of a stud 55 secured to a projection 56 extending from the hubof the arm 38. This stud projects through a suitable aperture in acoiiperating extension 57 formed on the hub 43 of the arm 44 beforereferred to. A spring 58 is coiled around the stud and bears against theextension 57 and a pair of adjusting nuts 59. In the event of anunyielding substance getting into the space between the sector 31 andthe table 29; and in the event of failure of the reach-rod tobreak-joint and relieve the strain on the parts, then the spring 58 willbe compressed and the arms 38 and 44 will break-joint and be releasedfrom the haft 34. At the end 'of the normal forward movement of thereach-rod, there is located a roller 60, mounted upon a stud 61, carriedby a bracket 62, suitably supported by the frame of the machine. As thechain moves forward, or toward the left in the drawing, the extreme endof the reach-rod strikes this roller and rides up upon its periphery,thereby becoming disconnected from the chain stud 54. The arms 38 and 44are returned to their normal position by vance a stalk lying upon thetable. For this latter purpose the stud 45 projects beyond the face ofthe reach-rod 46, 47 andlocated in 1ts path of movement is an arm 66,

- which is fast upon the shaft 34. In Fig. 9,

Y the stalk is compressed between the 'sector' it will be found thatthis stud 45 is not in engagement with the arm 66. This is the normalposition of the various parts. When the arms 38 and 44 are swung to theposition shown in Fig. 10, during which time 31 and the table 29, thestud 45 approaches the arm 66. A'further movement of the arms 38 and 44causes the stud 45 to engage the arm 66 and rock the ector 31 to advancestop is clearly shown in Figs. 9 and 10, and

it will be readily understood that the pivotal points of this mechanismare so located that proaches the delivery end of the table 29,

its riding roller 25 comes in contact with a fixed cam rail 72, suitablysupported from the frame of the machine. Immediately after theriding'roller engages the cam rail 72, the openiu roller 26 engages asuperposed cam rail 73. This results in tilting the forward end of thegripper in a downward direction so that the trailing roller 22 is movedupward and comes in contact with the cam rail 73. As the gripperadvances immediately under the delivery end of the feed table 29, thetrailing roller runs down the inclined face of the cam rail'73' andopens the gripper. This action is clearly shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 10 showsthe gripper advanced a little beyond the delivery end of the table 29,and Fig. 11 shows the gripper advanced still farther, andthe' end of thestalk in Position to be gripped. By

an inspection of Fig. 11,*it will be seen that a further movement of thegripper will result in the opening roller 26 riding from under the camrail 7 2,whieh of course permits the springs 18 to close the jaws of thegripper and permits the gripper to return to its normal position in theplane of the chain. It may be here remarked that the feed table 30differs in no material respect from the feed table 29 and that thesector and its operating mechanism, which coiiperates with the feedtable 30, is a duplicate of the sector 31 and its mechanism. It istherefore unnecessary to specifically describe this table 30 andcotiperating mechanism, and such description is omitted in the interestof brevity. The onlydiiference between the two feed mechanisms is in theposition of the opening camsand the widths of the riding rollers,opening rollers and trailing rollers of the grippers.

Referring particularly to Fig. 13, the lower cam rails which cooperatewith the feed table 30, are marked 74 and the 00- operating upper camrails are marked 75. In thi Fig. 13, it will be seen that both grippersare shown close together. This is not their normal position, but theyare so shown in order to make clear how each gripper passes one feedtable without 0pen-' ing, and opens at the other feed table.

For the purpose of releasing the reachsaid reach-rod from the chain 54at any This shaft 1 time before the disengaging roller 60 comes Itemplates the opening of the stalk into operation. This mechanism isdesigned for use in case of accident only aud ls out of action duringthe normal operation of the machine.

It will be remembered that it has been hereinbefore stated that theinvention concells and the expression of the juice therefrom before thefiber stripping operation begins, and immediately after the stalk hasbeen transferred from one of the feed tables to the forwarding means.The stalk cell opening operation and the juice expressing operation arein the present machine performed by two separate mechanisms. The stalkcell opening mechanism consists, in the resent machine, of a series ofknives 79 see Figs. 1, 12 and 18). These knives are mounted in batteryupon a bar 80 extending across the machine and supported by arms 81pivoted at 82 to the upper cam rails 75. It will be seen that theshredding points of these knives lie in the same plane as the forwarding means and consequently in the path of movement of a stalk.Projecting from the ends of the bar 80, are bosses 83, carrying bowls 84which rest upon arms 85 pivoted at 82 to the opposite side of the camrail 75 before referred to. As a grippermoves forward, its ends adjacentthe chains .engage these arms 85 and raises them. They, in turn, raisethe bar 80 and the battery of knives 79 above the gripper. When thegripper has passed from under the arms 85, the bar drops of its ownweight and the knives enter the stalk, shredding it into narrow strips.This shredding operation not only opens the cells and permits the juicesto run out, but separates the entire stalk into a series of thin stripsso that the pulp is more easily crushed than has been possibleheretofore, and so that the juices may be entirely pressed out from thepulp before the stripping action begins. From the shredding mechanismthe stalk is advanced to the juice expressing mechanism. This mechanismconsists of a series of four drums 86, 87, 88, 89, respectively mountedupon shafts 90, 92, 91 and 93. The shafts and 91 are journaled in boxes94 and 95 bolted in fixed position to the lower part of the frame. Theshafts 92 and 93 are journaled in movable boxes 96 and 97 which aresuitably mounted in brackets "98 and 99, these brackets being mountedupon the upper part of the frame. A pair of brushes 100 and 101 areprovided, the function of which is to keep the surface of the drums 87and 89 free from loose fiber or pulp. Similar brushes may be providedfor the lower drums 86 and 88 if desired. The lower-drums are made flatat one point and the upper drums are made concave at a correspondingpoint to permit the passage of the gripper between the upper and thelower drums, and. the flat- .and forwarding the stalk operates torelleve the grlpper 5 strain.

which. is shown tened and concave portions of the two pairs of drums arein staggered relation to each other so that after the gripper has passedthrough one of the pairs of drums, it is always in engagement with thestalk folm lowing the gripper. It will be readily understood that thepressure exerted upon the stalk, whereby the juice is expressed from thepulp already shredded, may be adjusted by moving 97 carrying the upperdrums toward or away from the lower drums. The forwarding chains 6 and 7engage sprockets 102 and 103 respectively fixed to the shafts 92 and 93,carrying the upper drums.

and 7 further engage sprockets 104 mounted on a shaft 105 extendingacross the machine. This shaft carries a smaller sprocket 106 whichdrives a chain 107- running over sprockets 108 and 109 respectivelysecured 5 to the shafts 90 and 91. It will be readily understood thatby'this system of sprockets and chains, the juice expressing mechanismis actuated by the forwarding chains and is therefore always in timewith the grip- 90 pers. It will be readily understood also that afterthe gripper has assed the juice expressing drums or mec anism, thepressure action of said drums upon from a part of the strain of draggingthe long stalk through the machine so that after the first few feet ofthe stalk have been shredded by the stalk cell opening mechanism, all ofthe strain thereafter set up by 00 the shredding mechanism is carried bythe juice ex ressing mechanism, and the gripper nee s only to advancethe stalk to the stripping mechanism.

By an inspection of Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive, 105

it will be seen that there are three sets of drums spaced apart on themachine, all driven by the forwarding chains. The functions of the firstset, which has ust been described, are,

auxiliary forwarding device to relieve a gripper from a part of thestrain; The additional sets of drums perform one function only; that isto say, to act warding devices to relieve the gripper from Inconstruction they are recrsely like the juice expressing drums justescribed and a detailed description thereof is unnecessary to a fullunderstanding of the inven- 12c tion, and is therefore omitted intlieinterest of brevity.

The stalk pressing mechanism an initial stripping tween said juiceexpressing mechanism and the adjacent auxiliary forwardmg drums. Thisinitial stripping mechanism is in two parts, both of which are ahke andone of to what may be termed the journal boxes 96 and 75 The chains 6 soas stated, to express the juice 3 10 from the shredded stalk and then toact as an as auxiliary foris advanced from the juice ex mechanismlocated be- 1125 upon an enlarged scale in Figs 19' and 20. Mounted uponthe main frame of the.machine are two brackets 110, which eX-tendinwardly toward the center of the machine. The space between theadjacent ends of these brackets is bridged by a barv 111, and adjustablymounted upon this bar is a blade 112, the blade adjustment beingeifected by means of the adjusting" screws 113 and clamping bolt-s 114:.The operating edge of the blade 112 is so ositioned that a gripper inpassing throng the machine rides over it, the riding rollers runningover fixed cam rails 115,Whichare supported the brackets before re-'ferred' to;

edge of the blade 112 is a curved pressure block 116. This pressureblock is bolted at each end to a bracket 117, which is arranged to slidevertically upon a post 118, secured to a bracket 119'bolted to thebracket 110 before referred to; Upon each or the'brackets-117 is mounteda series of weights 120; the number of weights determining the pressureoft-he pressure block 116 upon a stalk lyingbetween said block and theblade 112".

tween said pressure block and the b This means consists of a pair ofcables 121,;

It is of course obvious t'lia-tthe Weight may be varied at will. Meansare provided for raising the pressure blockjand the weights to permitthe passage of the g'riper beade 112.

one end of each of which is fast to one of the brackets 117 beforereferred to. cables pass over idle sheaves 122, which sheaves aremounted to rotate upon studs 123 secured to brackets 124 mounted uponthe top of the brackets 119 before referred to. The other end of tendingacross the machine and journa'led in brackets 1'26 bolted to the mainframe.- Depending from the shaft 126' isa'pair of arms 127 which extenddownward into the" path of movement of the gripper. Whenthe grippermoves forward (in the direction of the arrow in Fi 20-), itstrikes'th'ese arms 1'27 and carries the lower end t-l'iereof along withit. *This results inwind'ing up the cables and raising the pressureblock116 to permit the passage or the gripper. As gripper has passed thepressure and blade 112, the arms 127 ride gripper and the weights120c'ause' the pressure block to descend to" its normal however,"

soon as the block 116 ofi of said position. It is very important, whenthis action takes place, that the "block is notdropped so rapidly as topreduce a chopping co actio'n of theblade and the pressure block, whichmight result in injur ing or severing the fibers. action, there isprovided a pair'of pneumatic retarding devices, the function of which isto permit the pressure block 116 to drop rapidly until near the limit ofits movement,

but to cushion the block and its operating 1 b otiperating with theoperating These each of the cables is fast to a segment fixed to a shaft126 ex To prevent such the air slowly escapes part of the descendingmovement of the pressure block and brackmasses mechanism so that thelast part ofits down' ward movement is relatively slow. To effeet thisresult, the up er parts of the posts 118 act as pistons an the'upperparts of the brackets 117 act as cylinders in which the pistonsaccurately fit. Each of the brackets 117 is further provided with a cap128 in which is mounted a spring pressed air-valve 129. During" theupward movement of the pressure block and brackets 117, this valveautomatically opens to admit air to the cylinders through an aperture130 in the' cap and ast the" valve 129. When the pressure bloc 116 andbrackets 117 descend,

within the cylinder. The upperwalls of the cylinders are, however,provided with a series of small apertures 131, through which after ithasbeen compressed by the first ets. The operation of this retardingmech-' anism results in causing the blade 112 to enter the' pulp of theshredded stalk, without danger of cutting or otherwise injuringthefibers. An adjusting device is provided which-limits-t he downwardmovement of the pressure block and permits of a fine adjust ment of therelative positions' of the blade the valves 1'29 a're'clbsed by the airpressure and block when operating upon a stalk. I

This device consists of a pair of adjustingscrews 1 32, one end of whichis anchored at 133 to the bracket 117. The other endis anchored to aplate 134, which is adapted to contact wit'hthe boss 13'5 extending inwardly from the bracket 119, and which. further forms-a support for themiddle part of the post 118 before referred to; c

It sometimes o'cc-ursiw the operation of afiber strippingmachine thatfibers are:

broken and curled up upon the stripping blade where they accumulateuntil they produce imperfect action of the stripping mach-- ani'sm; Toprevent such an accumulation ofbroken fibers, there is be termed a bladeclearing mechanism;- This mechanism consists of a bar 136,- the upper ndof' which lies against the blade 136 is supportedupcn arms 137 securedto a shaft 138' extending across the machine and journal ed in suitablebrackets 13%), which brackets are bolted to the main frame of themachine; The shaft 138 further carries an arm 140 1:0 which issecuredthe lower end of a connecting" rod 141 The upper end of this connectinrod is secured to a bracket 1'42, which brat is bolted to't he upperpart of one or the brash ets- 117- It will be're'adi'ly understood thatby means of this construction the bar 136 is thrown away from the blade112 every time the pressure block is raised, so that the 11 2 Thebarprovided what may blade is always cleared of broken fibers before a newstark is resented to" it.-

By an mspeot'ion oi Figs 3 and 41", it will be readily understood thatthere are two of the stripping mechanisms located between the juiceexpressing drums and the adjacent auxiliary forwarding drums. -These twostripping mechanisms are exactly alike and a detailed description of thesecond one is omitted in the interest of brevity.

Located between the second and third sets of auxiliary forwarding drums(see Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive) are two more stripping mechanisms, which donot differ materially from the mechanism just described, except thatthey are designed to scrape the outer skin from the opposite side of thefibers. In View of the detailed description already given of the mainparts of the first stripping mechanism,-it-is deemed unnecessary todescribe in detail the third and fourth stripping mechanisms. Theessential differences will, however, be pointed out. 7

Referring particularly to Figs. 21 and 22, it will be seen that therelative position of the stripping blade and pressure block is reversed.The pressure block marked 143 is supported by brackets 145, which inturn support the posts 146 and the adjusting screws 147. The blade 148is adjustably mounted upon a bar 149 extending across the machine andbolted to brackets 150, which brackets carry the weights 151 and theretarding cylinders 152. Cables 153 are secured to the brackets 150 andrun over sheaves 154. One end of each of these cables is secured to asector 156 mounted upon a shaft 157 extending across the machine. Thisshaft is rocked by means of depending arms 158 in precisely the samemanner as thelshaft v126-is rocked by the arms. 127. Located to the rearof the shaft 159 is a second shaft 160. This shaft carries a pair ofradius arms .161 pivoted to levers 162, which levers are fulcrumed at163 to brackets 164, which brackets are bolted to the it any fragmentsof fibers which may be adhering to the stripping blade. Aside from thesedetailed differences, the operation and construction of the third andfourth stripping mechanisms are precisely like the operation andconstruction of the first and second stripping mechanisms. It may behere remarked that the weights of the stripping mechanisms, theadjusting screws and the retarding mechanism all cooperate to insuregreater accuracy in the co. action of the stripping blades and cooperating'blocks. This adjustment is so fine and accurate that the fibersthemselves are somewhat flattened during the strippmg operation, thuspresenting the maximum surface of the fibers to the action of thestripping blades without danger of cutting or otherwise injuring thefiber. The efiective result of this action is a complete. separation ofthe fibers, the surfaces of which are scraped clean on both sides, sothat no further cleaning process is necessary.

After a gripper carrying the forward end of a stalk has passed the lastset of auxiliary forwarding drums, it is necessary to release the stalkfrom the gripper in order to efiect its delivery at the end of themachine. Mechanism is provided for this purpose and consists of a pairof fixed cam rails 166 bolted to brackets 167 extending inwardly fromthe main frame of the machine (see Figs. 5, 23 and 23). Cooperating withthese cam rails 166 and located below the same, is a pair of cam rails168, supported by brackets 169 extending upwardly and inwardly from thelower part of the main frame. As a gripper enters thespace between thecam rails 166 and 168, its jaws are opened-as is clearly shown in Fig.23. For the purpose of withdrawing the forward end of the stalk from thegripper jaws at this time, there is provided a bar 170 carried on a pairof arms 171, which arms are secured to a rock shaft 172. As is clearlyshown in Fig. 28, the rock shaft 172 is operated by means of a pair ofarms 173, which are fast on the rock shaft 172 and which normallyproject upward into the path of movement of the gripper. As-the gripperadvances, it strikes these arms 173 and rocks, the shaft 172, whichresults in throwing the bar 170 from its normal position below thegripper and forwarding chains to the position shown in Fig. '23, inwhichfigure the forward end of the stalk is shown as released-andwithdrawn from the gripper. It will be readily understood that after thegripper passes the arms 17 3, the bar 170 will again drop to its normalposition and it follows that the forward end of the stalk will dropalso.

For the purpose of advancing the stalk from this position to thedelivery end of the machine, there is provided ,a belt 174 which runsover a drum 175 and a drum 176. The drum 175 is loose upon the powershaft 3 before referred to, and the drum 176 is fast upon a shaft 177,which extends across the machine and is j'ournaled in' brackets 178,bolted to the cam rails 168 j before referred to. The shaft 177 carriesa sprocket 179, over which runs a chain 180,

which chain derives its motion from a sprocket upon the adjacent shaftof the third auxiliary forwarding mechanism. After the gripper has beenreleased from the forward end of the stalk, the stalk is advancedentirely through the stripping mechanism by {the auxiliary forwardlngdrumsand is de-.

livered from the machine by the belt 174 vention has two equidistantgrippers.

just described.- After the gripper passes machine, it is carried back bythe chains along the under run of the same to the feeding mechanisms.

The machine selected to illustrate the[ int 1s to. be understood,however, that in certain constructions within the invention, a greateror lesser number of grippers may be used and a lesser number of feedtables may be used. It is obvious also that the number of strip-pingmechanisms may be varied if desired.

In view of the foregoing, a detailed description of the operation of thedevice is deemed unnecessary and is therefore omitted in the interest ofbrevity.

Changes and variations'may be made in the structure by means of whichthe invention is carried into effect, and the invention therefore is notto be limited to the precise details of the structure herein shown anddescribed. Furthermore, certain parts of the structure shown anddescribed are capable of use independent of other parts, and suchindependent use is contemplated.

We claim 1. A defibrating machine provided with a plurality ofstatlonary stalk supports, forwarding means spaced from the support, andmeans including a plurality of movable members selectively actuated bythe forwarding means and cooperating one with each support forconsecutively transferring stalks from the supports to the forwardingmeans.

2. A defibrating machine provided with a plurality of stationary feedtables, for warding means spaced from the tables and means including aplurality of movable members selectively actuated by the forwardingmeans and cooperating with the tables to consecutively advance stalksalong said tables and transfer them to the forwarding means.

3. A defibrating machine provided with a plurality of stationary feedtables, forwarding means spaced from the tables and operative in planeslying at an angle to the planes of the tables, and means including aplurality of movable members selec tively actuated by the forwardingmeans and cooperating with the tables to consecutively advance stalksalong said tables and transfer them to the forwarding means.

4. A defibrating machine provided with a plurality of inclinedstationary tables, forwarding means spaced from and underrunning thefeed tables in horizontal planes, and means cooperating with the tableto consecutively advance stalks along said tables and transfer them tothe forwarding means. r

5. A defibrating machine provided with a stalk support, forwarding meansspaced from the support, and means including an oscillating sectorcooperating with the forwarding means and support for transferring astalk from the support to the forwarding means.

6. A defibrating machine provided with a stalk support, continuouslyoperating forwarding means spaced from the support, and means includingan oscillating sector cooperating with the forwarding means and supportat regular intervals for transferring a stalk from the support to theforwarding means.

7 A defibrating machine provided with a feed table, a sector mountedadjacent the table, and means for moving the sector toward the table toengage a stalk lying thereupon and for oscillating the sector to advancethe stalk along the table.

8. A defibrating machine provided with a feed table, a sector mountedadjacent the table, a stop mounted at the delivery end of the table,andmeans for moving the sector toward the table to engage a stalk lyingthereupon and for simultaneously moving the stop away from the deliveryend of the table and for subsequently oscillating the sector to advancethe stalk along the table.

9. A defibrating machine provided with a feed table, a spring pressedsector mounted adjacent the table, means for moving the sector towardthe table against the action of its springs to engage a stalk lying uponthe table and for oscillating the sector to advance the stalks along thetable.

10. A defibrating machine provided with a feed table, continuouslyoperating forwarding means spaced from the table, a sector mountedadjacent the table, and connections whereby the forwarding means causesthe sector to move at regular intervals toward the table to engage astalk lying thereupon and to cause the sector to oscillate to advancethe stalk along the table toward the forwarding means.

11. defibrating machine provided with a feed table, continuouslyoperating forwarding means under-running the table, a sector overlyingthe table, and connections whereby the forwarding means causes thesector to move at regular intervals toward the table to engage a stalklying thereupon and to cause the sector to oscillate to advance thestalk along the table toward the forwarding means,

12. A defibrating machine'provided with a plurality of feed tables,continuously operating forwarding means under-running the table, asector overlying each table, and connections whereby the forwardingmeans causes the sectors to move consecutively and at regular intervalstoward their respective tables and to engage stalks lying upon saidtables and causes the sectors to consecutively oscillate to advancestalks along the tables toward the forwarding means.

13. A defibrating machine provided with a feed table, forwarding meansspaced from the table and continuously operative in planes lying at anangle to the planes of the table and including a pair of chains and atraveling gripper having a pair of hinged jaws, means for causing thegripper to pass the delivery-end of the table with its jaws open, andmeans cooperating with the forwarding means and table to advance a stalkalong said table into the open jaw of the traveling gripper.

14. A defibrating machine provided with a plurality of tables,continuously operating forwarding means spaced from the tables andoperative in planes lying at an angle to the planes of the tables andincluding a pair of chains and a plurality of traveling grippers eachhaving a pair of hinged jaws, means for causing each of the grippers topass the delivery end of one of the tables with its jaws open, and meansin- .cluding a plurality of movable members selectively actuated by theforwarding means and cooperating with the tables to consecutivelyadvance stalks along said tables into the open jaws of the gri pers.

15. A defibrating' machine provi ed with a stalk support, forwardingmeans, stalkcell opening mechanism operative in the path of .movement ofthe stalk, and juice expressing mechanism operative in the path ofmovement of the stalk beyond the stalk-- cell opening mechanism.

16. A defibratin'g machine provided with stalk forwarding means, ashredding mechanismoperative in the' path of movement of the stalk, andjuice-expressing mechanism operative in the path of movement of thestalk beyond the shredding mechanism.

17. A defibratingmachine provided with means for forwarding a naturalstalk, a shredding mechanism operative in the path of movement of thestalk to shred said natural stalk without removing material therefrom,and j uice-expres'sing mechanism operative in the path of movement ofthe stalk to remove the juice only from the stalk.

18. A' defibrating machine provided with stalk forwarding means,stalk-cell opening mechanism operative in the path of movementof thestalk, connections associated with the stalk-cell opening mechanism andprojecting into the path of movement of the forwarding means wherebysaid mechanism is intermittently moved out of the path of movement ofthe stalk, and juice-expressing mechanism operative in the path ofmovement of the stalk beyond the stalk-cellopenin'g mechanism.

19. A defibrating machine provided with stalk forwarding means, astripping mechanism including a blade member and block membercooperative in the path of movement of the stalk, connections wherebythe forwarding means causes one of the members to intermittently moveout from the path of the stalk, and a pneumatic retarding mechanismcooperating withthe movable member to control the speed of its return tonormal position. A i

20. A defibrating machine provided with stalk forwarding means, astripping mechanism including a blade member and cooperating blockmember, and mechanism cooperating with the blade member to clear theblade of fibers.

21. A defi'brating machine provided wit stalk forwarding means, astripping mechanism includinga blade member and block member, a barnormally lying in contact with the blade, and operating connectionswhereby the bar is intermittently moved away fromthe blade to clear saidblade of fibers.

22. A defibrating machine provided with stalk forwarding means, astripping mecha-, nism including a blade member and a block member,means for moving one of the members a bar normally lying in contact withthe blade, and connections between the bar and movable member wherebythe bar is moved away from the blade to clear said blade of fibers.

23. A defibratin'g machine provided witn stalk forwarding means, astripping mechanism including a blade member and a block membercooperative in the path of movement of the stalk, and mechanismassociated with the stripping mechanismincluding a pair of cables andconnected members the latter projecting into'the path of movement of theforwarding means whereby the forwarding means causes one of the membersto intermittently move out of the path of movement of the stalk.

245. A defibrating machine provided with a stalksupport, forwardingmeans spaced from the support, means for transferring a stalk from thesupport to the forwarding means, stalk-cell opening mechanism operativein the path of movement of the stalk, juice-expressing mechanismoperative in the path of movement of the stalk beyond the stalk-cellopening mechanism, and a stripping mechanism beyond the stalk-cellopening mechanism.

25. A defibrating machine provided with a stalksupport, forwarding meansspaced from the support and continuously operating in planes-lying at anangle to the planes of the support, means for transferring a stal'k fromthe support to the forwarding means, stalk-cell opening mechanismoperative in the path of movement of the stalk, juice-expressingmechanism beyond the stalk-cell opening mechanism, and strippingmechanism beyond the juice-expressing mechanism, all of said mechanismsbeing 0 erative in the same plane as the forwar ing mechanism.

26. A defibrating machine provided with stalk forwarding means, anauxiliary forwarding mechanism, stalk releasing mechanism, and a carriercooperating with the auxiliary forwarding mechanism to advance a stalkafter it is released from the forwarding means.

27. A defibrating machine provided with stalk forwarding means anauxiliary forwarding mechanism, stalk releasing mechanism, and atraveling belt cooperating with the auxiliary forwarding mechanism to adVance a stalk after it is released from the forwarding means.

28. A defibrating machine, the combination with stalk forwarding means,an auxiliary forwarding mechanism, stalk releasing mechanism including abar arranged to engage a stalk and to cooperate with the auxiliaryforwarding mechanism to pull a stalk out of en agement with theforwarding means, an a traveling belt cooperating with the auxiliaryforwarding mechanism to advance a stalk after it is released from theforwarding means.

29. A defibrating machine provided with a stalk support, forwardingmeans spaced from the support, means for transferring a stalk from thesupport to the forwarding means, a shredding mechanism operative in thepath of movement of the stalk adjacent the support, juice-expressingmechanism operative in the path of movement of the stalk beyond theshredding mechanism, stripping mechanism operative in the path ofmovement of the stalk beyond the juiceexpressing mechanism, and stalkreleasing mechanism.

30. A defibrating machine provided with a stalk support, forming meansspaced from the support, means for transferring a stalk from the supportto the forwarding means, shredding mechanism operative 1n the path ofmovement of the stalk adjacent the support, juice-expressing mechanismoperative in the path of movement of the stalk beyond the shreddingmechanism, stripping mecha nism operative in the path of movement of thestalk beyond the julce-expressing mechanism, stalk releasing mechanism,auxiliary forwarding mechanism, and a carrier co operating with theauxiliary forwarding mechanism to advance a stalk after it is releasedfrom the forwarding means.

31. A defibrating machine provided with feeding mechanism, stalk-cellopening mechanism, juice-expressing mechanism, stripping mechanism,stalk releasing mechanism,

and forwarding means operating to forward a stalk from the feedmechanism successively into the range of action of the other mechanismsand to drive said mechanisms.

32. A defibrating machine provided with 33. A defibrating machineprovided with feeding mechanism, stalk-cell opening mechanism,juice-expressing mechanism, a plurality of stripplng mechanisms, stalkreleasing mechanism, a plurality of auxiliary forwarding mechanisms onebeyond each stripping mechanism, and forwarding means operating toforward a stalk from the feed mechanism successively into the range ofaction of the other mechanisms and to drive said mechanisms.

34. A defibrating machine provided with feeding mechanism, stalk-cellopening mechanism, juice-expressing mechanism, a plurality of strippingmechanisms, stalk releasing mechanism, a plurality of auxiliaryforwarding mechanisms one beyond each stripping mechanism, andforwarding means operating to forward a stalk from the feed mechanismsuccessively into the range, of action of the other mechanisms and todrive said mechanisms, all of said mechanisms being operative in oneplane.

35. A defibrating machine provided with stalk forwarding means, astripping mech anism member movable in and out of the path of movementof the stalk, a yoke supporting said member, and a pair of retardingdevices cooperating with the yoke to control the speed of movement ofthe member in one direction.

36. A defibrating machine rovided with stalk forwarding means, 0 astripping mechanism member, a yoke supporting said member and adapted tobe vertically lifted by the forwarding means, and a pair of pneumaticretarding devices cooperating with the yoke to control the speed of itsdownward movement.

37. A defibrating machine provided with stalk forwarding means, astripping mechanism member, a yoke supporting the member and adapted tobe vertically lifted by the forwarding means, a pair of retardingcylinders carried by the yoke, and a pair of stationary pistonscooperating with the cylinders to control the downward movement of theyoke.

38. A defibrating machine provided with stalk forwarding means, astripping mechanism member, a yoke supporting said mem-

